How to Decorate Your Home Like a Tulum Beach House

Trinette Reed Photography/Getty

March 18, 2017 @ 3:45 PM

by: Travel + Leisure/Kira Turnbull

Intro Deck:

Décor inspired by your favorite tropical, bohemian hideaway.

The eclectic design and décor of Tulum has long lured visitors as much as its Yucatecan cuisine and calming yoga classes overlooking azure waters. The rustic town is the antithesis of nearby Cancun's all-inclusive resorts and jam-packed beach strips, and its decorative style makes it the ultimate bohemian getaway.

In the past decade, stylish ex-pats have retreated from bustling metro areas like Brooklyn and L.A. to the laid-back Yucatan haven, but not without bringing a little modern style to the jungle. The town’s look combines effortless minimalism with a focus on the natural surroundings of jungle and sea.

Hotels are built along the beach, their large open spaces filled with furniture made from driftwood and light fixtures in the shape of bird nests. Cow hide rugs and colorful Sayulita chairs amplify the tie between nature and interior design. On the jungle side, restaurants opt for open-air spaces with vintage chandeliers hung from trees and tiny tea candles dotted throughout the grounds to make Tulum its own enchanted forest.

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Stores are adorned with larger-than-life handmade dream catchers that sway in the breeze and that sweet smell of traditional copal incense, a Mayan herb used for healing purposes, permeates throughout the town, giving Tulum its very own signature scent. In this bohemian refuge, the outside and inside become one.

If you want to bring a little of the beach lifestyle and look into your humble abode, it’s all about neutral hues with pops of color. The Yucatan Peninsula is abundant in natural resources and many opt for using local artisans and designers to create furniture and décor. Hotels and restaurants along Tulum’s beach road use handmade light fixtures created from vejuco roots and some roofs are built from dried palmetto or guano palms. There are also iconic design elements like those found at the famous Coqui Coqui Residence and Spa in nearby Coba, where organic textures and old Victorian antiques coexist.

Whether you decide to channel the traditional rustic furniture and muted tones or juxtapose organic materials with contemporary artwork and modern furniture­—a la Casa Malca—Tulum’s aesthetic is always about embracing the beauty of nature. Here’s a list to get you started on that dreamy beach bungalow.